Goodbye
by phoebe9509
Summary: Emily is leaving and she says her goodbyes to the team...everyone except one person that is.
1. Chapter 1

They all knew this day was coming. She had explained it to everyone a week ago. But knowing that today was the day made everyone a little bit gloomier, and with good reason. Her desk was packed up and all she had to do was finish up a few case files then she'd be done. Reid had asked her if this was what she wanted when she told him, and all Emily could think was that there was one thing she wanted more, but she couldn't share that with him, so she had just nodded her head and told him that the promotion was a great opportunity and she'd be crazy to pass it up.

The day passed with jokes and memories being shared by the team, mostly at Emily's expense. When 6 o'clock rolled around Emily knew that it was time to get her final goodbyes in before she had to be at the train station by 7 for her train at 7:30 that would take her away from her family. From the people she loved more than herself.

Emily stood up from her seat and walked over to Morgan who stood up and without waiting for her to say anything wrapped his strong arms around her waist and picked her up, hugging her tightly against him. Emily let out a small giggle as she returned the hug.

"I'm going to miss you Princess," Morgan told her as he placed her feet back on the ground.

"Of course you are," she beamed. "Now you're stuck down here with Reid all by yourself. I know I wouldn't be able to survive," she joked as she placed a kiss on his cheek.

"Don't forget us."

"Never." Emily walked back into his arms and rested her head against his chest. "I'm going to miss you too," she whispered before pulling away.

Emily was already on the verge of tears just from saying goodbye to one person and she couldn't help the tears that left her eyes when she faced Reid. His eyes were red and glassy and Emily wished she wasn't the reason for it.

She quickly closed the distance between them and pulled him up from his chair and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Don't let Morgan pick on you too much okay? And…and don't share a million facts a day because now he's down here by himself."

Reid nodded against her neck and he started to cry. "Why do you have to go so far away? California…I mean…we'll never see you Emily."

"Sure you will! You can come visit me anytime!" Emily released him and ran a hand through his short hair. "Do me a favor, grow your hair back out. I liked it long," she smiled sadly.

She watched as Reid blushed lightly. "Promise me something," she prompted.

Reid's eyes met hers again and Emily felt a knife go through her heart. She was leaving the one person who she knew needed her. Actually _needed_ her around. The protectiveness she felt for him overwhelmed her. "Anything," he said.

"Keep going to the doctors. If your headaches keep getting worse then call me and I'll come back. Once I get settled I'll even do some research on the doctors in California and see if any of them can do anything. Promise me that Reid. I won't be able to go knowing that you won't let anyone else in about this."

"I promise," he nodded.

Emily hugged him again and her eyes flicked up and saw Hotch watching the scene unfold before him from his office window. Returning her attention to the young man in her arms, she lightly kissed his cheek then wiped her lipstick off. "Sorry about that," she grinned.

"I'm going to miss you Emily."

"Not as much as I'm going to miss you sweetie." She let him go then walked into Dave's office without knocking. "Time to say goodbye to me Grandpa," she smiled.

"Grandpa?" Dave joked from behind his desk. "You're killing me kid," he placed his hand over his heart and did a dramatic death which caused Emily to laugh. Rossi locked eyes with her then stood up walking up to her. "Everything packed?"

"Yes."

"What time is your train?"

"7:30."

"Do you want me to go with you?" he asked.

"I think I'll be okay dad," she chuckled.

"Dad is better than grandpa," Rossi smiled as he pulled her into a hug. "I don't do goodbyes, I was never good at them. So I guess I'll settle for an I'll see you later, which I will by the way."

"You will," Emily confirmed as she placed a kiss softly on his forehead. She backed up towards the door and opened it but looked back before leaving. "I know you don't do goodbyes, but do you do I'll miss you's?" she asked with a watery smile.

Rossi nodded his head, "I'll miss you Emily. Be careful."

"I'll miss you too," she smiled before heading out.

Emily stood in front of the closed door for five minutes wondering if she was going to make it out alive. She knocked on the door then walked in and smiled as she was pulled into a hug.

"I can't believe you're leaving gumdrop. What am I going to do here without you? JJ is already gone and now you. I'm going to be the only female. Are you sure you don't want to stay? I wish I could stow you away so you'd have to stay here forever," Garcia confessed leaving Emily no chance at answering any of the questions she asked.

Emily stood back and saw all the tears on Garcia's flushed face. "Oh sweetie," she whispered as she ran her thumbs over Garcia's cheeks, "this isn't goodbye, you can come see me anytime you'd like. No matter the time, or the day. And we'll still keep in touch, I promise."

"It's not going to be the same without you. I hope you know that._ I_ won't be the same without you." Garcia cried even more.

"The feeling is mutual PG." Emily smoothed her hand over the blondes hair then hugged her once more before pulling away. "I'm sorry to say but I have to get going. I'll call you once I get there," she promised as she started to walk away. "I love you Penelope Garcia."

"I love you Emily Prentiss," and with those words Emily was gone.

As she made her way towards her desk for the last time she looked up at Hotch's office and knew that she had to say goodbye to him. She couldn't just walk away like their friendship meant nothing at all to her. She didn't want him to think that, but as she walked closer panic started to run through her. What if she went off track with the speech she prepared, and she told him more than she wanted to? Emily spent so much time debating with herself at her desk that Hotch finally looked up and locked eyes with her. He gave her a small sad smile which she returned then quickly looked away. Emily knew she wasn't going to be able to say goodbye to him. So she looked at Reid and Morgan again and gave them sad smiles then grabbed the box off of her desk, whispered her goodbyes once more, then headed towards the glass doors with her head down.

Hotch watched as she walked out of the bullpen and wondered why on Earth she didn't come say goodbye to him. She barely even acknowledged him. Didn't he deserve a goodbye? He stood behind her when she told him about her decision to leave, and he thought that she respected him enough to come say goodbye. They had grown closer recently, and seeing Emily walk away from him without saying goodbye hurt him more than he was willing to admit. Hotch quickly looked at his watch and saw that it was 6:45. Her train was at 7:30, he knew that much, so he quickly shut his computer down, turned off his light, grabbed his jacket and practically ran out of the bullpen completely ignoring the looks of the people around him. He had to get to her before her train. If there was one thing he deserved from her it was a goodbye, and if it was the last thing he did, he was going to get it.

_Don't worry, there is another part to this story! I'm cruel occasionally but I'm not THAT cruel to not write him catching up with her at the train station…or maybe he gets there and it's too late…hmm decisions decisions, what path shall I choose! Just joking! The next part should either be up tomorrow or Sunday so stay tuned folks!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed and/or added the story to their alerts. And thanks to___**Chrissiemusa **_for your review…I couldn't write you personally so I figured I'd do it here! So here is the last chapter. Hope you guys like it! _

"EMILY!" Hotch yelled across the crowded room once he spotted her. He watched as the raven haired woman turned around quickly. Hotch ran the remaining distance between them and stopped just short of colliding into her.

"What are you doing here?" Emily said in shock.

"You didn't say goodbye to me." Hotch said with hurt evident in his tone.

"What?"

Hotch took a deep breath. The hurt that she caused was already evident but he didn't feel the need to look like a complete fool. "You said goodbye to every other person personally except for me," he informed her.

Emily's eyes filled up with tears. This was what she was trying to avoid. Not saying goodbye to him was never her intention. There were so many things that Emily wanted to say to the man before her, but when the time came at the office, she couldn't. So instead of saying that he was right, and that she already knew that, she decided to play dumb. "Oh," was the response she settled for.

"Oh?" he repeated her words. Anger started to take place of the hurt that he was feeling. "That's all you have to say? Oh?" Hotch took another step towards Emily, leaving very little space in between them in the process, and looked down at her. "Am I not worthy of a goodbye from you?" he hissed.

Emily cursed silently as a single tear escaped her eye. She never meant to hurt him, that was the last thing she ever wanted to do, but him standing before her was proof that she failed. "Hotch—"

"You know I understand that when you first started at the BAU I was an asshole. I admit that, and I apologize for my behavior. I was wrong, and over the years you proved yourself to be an essential part of this team. As time passed we got along more, and in the end I thought we were friends." Hotch took another breath as he got his anger under control. "If I'm being honest I consider you to be one of my best friends. I can tell you things Emily that I can't tell anyone else, and I thought you thought of me as a close friend but I'm really doubting that now."

Emily opened her mouth to deny what he was saying but he stopped her with his words before she had a chance.

"Everyone," he pointed out. "You hugged and said goodbye to every single person except me. Was I that wrong about our friendship? Do you hate me and I wasn't aware of it? That must be what it is because what kind of person would leave without saying goodbye to a friend?"

Tears fell freely down her cheeks as Emily's hands started to shake. This was it, the moment of truth. The moment she either walked away without responding to his words and his questions, or the moment that she let him all the way in.

"You were the only one I _wanted_ to say goodbye to Hotch. The only one in my mind that a goodbye really mattered." Disbelief crossed Hotch's face so Emily quickly latched onto his hand and squeezed. "Do you think I want to say goodbye to you? I don't, but I had a whole speech prepared and the second that the thought of saying those words to you crossed my mind, I panicked and I couldn't do it. You mean so much to me Hotch. More than I can say, more than I can express. The thought of saying goodbye to you breaks my heart, because in a way I'm throwing everything away by leaving."

"What do you mean?" Hotch interrupted.

"I don't want to talk about that, I just want to give you a proper goodbye and be on my way," Emily avoided the question skillfully.

Hotch arched an eyebrow, and grasped her other hand in his. "What did you mean by that Emily? You aren't leaving until I know. You'll miss your train and I won't think twice about it."

"Why are you making this so much harder than it already is Hotch?" Emily questioned.

"Because I can't get over the fact that you're leaving. So please, tell me what you meant."

Emily couldn't get past the sheer determination in Hotch's eyes. She knew he was serious about making her miss her train, so she took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder at the wall. She didn't want to see his facial expression when she told him. "I think we could be great together. We could do great things. By leaving I feel like I'm throwing my chance at happiness with you away, but I have to go, I have to see where this promotion can take me. You have no idea how hard it was working with you for all these years and not being able to be with you. Not being able to say to you how I'm feeling. So me not saying goodbye to you has nothing to do with what happened in the beginning. It really had nothing to do with our friendship now, it mainly deals with the fact that I can't look at you and say goodbye and then walk away because my heart would break more than it already is."

She quickly removed her hands from his and started to back up. "Hotch I have to go," she said sadly as she wiped the tears from her face. Emily turned and started to walk away when his voice halted her actions for the second time that evening.

"Don't go."

Emily turned to look at him. "What?"

"Stay. Here. With me. You don't need to leave, you don't need to see where the promotion takes you. Just stay. The team needs you. _I_ need you. Please don't walk away."

"But—"

"I agree with everything you've said. We can be amazing together! But in order for that to happen you need to stay here. Now I know how you really feel about me, and I can act on what I want." Emily's eyebrows shot up and Hotch bit back a chuckle. "Yes Emily, I have feelings for you as well. I just never thought you felt the same so I kept them to myself, but I don't need to anymore. So I'm asking you not to go. Stay," he repeated again.

Emily was at a loss for words. What could she do? What did she want to do? The promotion was an amazing opportunity, but was it worth throwing her life here away? Could she make a relationship with Hotch work? Would they both be willing to open up to each other enough to let that happen? Would he still want to be with her tomorrow or was he just worried about the here and now, and was he only saying this to keep her off of the train? Emily was so lost in thought that she didn't notice that Hotch had walked up to her again.

Hotch gazed into her dark brown eyes and knew he could get lost in them forever. There was desire and questions lining them and he knew there was only one thing left to do to let her know that it wasn't just words for him. He was going to be in this all the way. So his eyes darted from hers down to her lips and he slowly closed the gap in between them. He pressed his lips gingerly against hers and waited patiently to see what Emily was going to do. He didn't have to wait long, the second he felt Emily respond to him he deepened the kiss. He trailed his hands up and ran them through her hair. He had always loved her hair, and now he knew it was as soft as it looked. Emily wrapped her arms around Hotch's neck and held on tightly. A soft moan passed between them and she was upset when Hotch pulled away slightly and rested his forehead against hers.

"Stay," he whispered.

"Hotch," she started but trailed off. She didn't know what else to say.

"I'll make you a deal. Come back with me, and if you still feel like the promotion is more important than anything you and I might share then you can leave tomorrow. I will let you go if that is how you feel. All I'm asking for is a chance Emily." Hotch brushed a stray hair behind her ear. "What do you say?"

Emily closed her eyes and breathed in Hotch's scent. "I think it's going to be a long night," she smiled as she opened her eyes and saw the happiness at her words in his. Emily knew in that moment that she wasn't leaving tomorrow. There was no doubt in her mind that tonight was going to be perfect and she would never think about leaving again. And as Hotch grabbed her bag, then her hand and they walked out of the train station together, she knew that she was okay with that fact.


End file.
